Applied Catalysis B 'Under Review': What Each Status Means

Before the paper reaches external reviewers, an Applied Catalysis B handling editor evaluates whether the catalysis significance, environmental/energy relevance, and mechanistic understanding warrant Applied Catalysis B's editorial slots. About 40 to 50 percent of submissions are desk-rejected at this stage within 10 to 14 days. Environmental relevance as a retrofitted afterthought accounts for roughly 35 percent of desk rejections. A desk rejection most often means the handling editor concluded that the work has scope-fit issues (Applied Catalysis B requires genuine environmental or energy relevance, not retrofitted), mechanistic understanding gaps, or would fit better at a sister Elsevier catalysis journal (Journal of Catalysis for fundamental catalysis, Catalysis Today for applied catalysis broader scope).

The Applied Catalysis B editorial office confirms files are complete: manuscript with figures embedded, Supporting Information with catalysis characterization data and environmental/energy performance data, Elsevier template formatting, cover letter directed to the editor naming the catalysis contribution and explicit environmental/energy relevance, conflict-of-interest declarations, ethics-statement documentation, and data-availability statement.

Elsevier's technical check screens the submission for language quality, scope fit, and originality via plagiarism check. Submissions that need English language improvements, are out of scope, or present excessive duplication with published sources can be desk rejected before editor review.

The handling editor reads the paper and evaluates catalysis significance, environmental or energy relevance (not retrofitted), mechanistic understanding, and Applied Catalysis B subspecialty routing.

In parallel with the handling editor's primary read, ambiguous-fit papers are discussed across the Elsevier Applied Catalysis B editorial team where peer handling editors weigh in on whether the paper would fit better at Applied Catalysis B or at sister Elsevier catalysis journals. This editor consultation runs alongside the desk-screen and adds 3 to 5 days to the timeline that is invisible to the author in the portal.

Applied Catalysis B handling editors typically invite 2 to 3 reviewers with catalysis subspecialty expertise. Reviewer recruitment typically takes 7 to 14 days.

Once 2 to 3 reviewers agree to review, the typical Applied Catalysis B peer-review cycle lasts 6 to 8 weeks per reviewer per Elsevier guidance. Most papers receive 2 to 3 reviewer reports. Reviewers are asked to evaluate catalysis significance, environmental/energy relevance, mechanistic understanding, and reproducibility.

After reports return, the handling editor synthesizes them. R&R revisions get 4 weeks for revision review. Total submission-to-acceptance commonly runs 6 to 10 months for successful papers.

• Rejection within 1 to 7 days: Technical check rejection (language, scope, originality) per Elsevier policy.
• Rejection within 10 to 14 days: Applied Catalysis B handling editor desk rejection per the 40 to 50 percent figure.
• Still Under Review after 3 weeks: Strong signal. Paper passed the Applied Catalysis B handling editor desk screen.
• Still Under Review after 16 weeks: Reviewer-recruitment or reviewer-report delay. A polite inquiry via the Editorial Manager portal is appropriate.
• Status changes to "Decision in Process": Reports are in; expect a decision within 2 to 3 weeks.

This is the most common anxiety we hear from Applied Catalysis B authors during the active editorial window. The honest answer: no, 10 weeks at Under Review puts you in the normal middle of Applied Catalysis B's 12 to 16 week peer-review distribution. Reports may still be arriving with the handling editor preparing for editorial synthesis. Most reviewer-driven delays come from the 6 to 8 week reviewer initial-review window (Applied Catalysis B gives reviewers substantial time) rather than slow reviews. If the portal still says Under Review at the 16-week mark, the most likely explanation is that one of the assigned reviewers asked for an extension and the handling editor granted it. This is normal practice at Applied Catalysis B.

What you should NOT do during the 10-to-16-week window is email the editorial office. Applied Catalysis B handling editors are working academic catalysis researchers managing 60+ active papers per quarter; an inquiry at 10 weeks adds friction without accelerating the timeline.

If your Applied Catalysis B paper is rejected after review, the natural cascade depends on what the reviewers and handling editor cited:

Journal of Catalysis (Elsevier) is the natural Elsevier cascade for fundamental catalysis papers.

Catalysis Today (Elsevier) is the Elsevier cascade for applied catalysis with broader scope.

Applied Catalysis A (Elsevier) is the Elsevier cascade for general catalysis.

Chemical Catalysis (Cell Press) is the external Cell Press catalysis cascade. Cell Press uses Editorial Manager at editorialmanager.com/chem-catalysis; editorial contact chemcatalysis@cell.com.

ACS Catalysis is the external ACS catalysis cascade. ACS Catalysis uses ACS Paragon Plus at acsparagonplus.acs.org; editorial contact catal@acs.org.

Nature Catalysis is the external Springer Nature top-tier catalysis cascade. The Nature Catalysis Manuscript Tracking System at mts-natcat.nature.com handles submission; natcatal@nature.com handles publisher-level inquiries.

Elsevier asks reviewers at Applied Catalysis B to evaluate four things specifically. The table below maps each to actionable preparation.

In our pre-submission work with Applied Catalysis B-targeted manuscripts, three named patterns generate the most consistent reviewer concerns and the most common reasons papers miss the editorial bar or fail the desk screen.

Retrofitted environmental relevance flagged at handling editor desk screen. When environmental relevance is retrofitted as an afterthought rather than genuinely integrated, Applied Catalysis B desk rejection within 10 to 14 days is common (this pattern accounts for ~35 percent of desk rejections). The strongest manuscripts frame the environmental relevance explicitly from the introduction.

Computational-only mechanism flagged as reviewer concerns. When mechanistic interpretation rests on computational prediction without direct spectroscopic support, reviewers consistently flag concerns. The strongest revisions include operando spectroscopic evidence (operando IR, XPS, EPR) supporting the mechanism.

Elsevier catalysis cascade offers from handling editor. When the handling editor concludes the work is rigorous but the environmental/energy relevance bar of Applied Catalysis B is not met, transfer offers to Journal of Catalysis (fundamental catalysis), Catalysis Today (applied catalysis broader scope), or Applied Catalysis A (general catalysis) are common. Elsevier editors take these transfers seriously.

This page was created from Elsevier's public Applied Catalysis B journal page at sciencedirect.com/journal/applied-catalysis-b-environment-and-energy, Elsevier Editorial Manager documentation (2 to 3 week editorial screening, 10 to 14 day desk rejection, 12 to 16 week peer review with 6 to 8 week reviewer initial review + 4 week revision, ~35 percent desk rejection from retrofitted environmental relevance, 2 to 3 reviewer reports), and Manusights pre-submission review experience with Applied Catalysis B-targeted manuscripts.

For the Elsevier catalysis landscape beyond Applied Catalysis B, see Journal of Catalysis (fundamental catalysis), Catalysis Today (applied catalysis broader scope), Applied Catalysis A (general catalysis), and external catalysis alternatives (ACS Catalysis, Chemical Catalysis from Cell Press, Nature Catalysis). The choice across these titles depends on whether the central contribution is top catalysis with environmental/energy relevance (Applied Catalysis B), fundamental catalysis (Journal of Catalysis), applied catalysis broader scope (Catalysis Today), general catalysis (Applied Catalysis A), top ACS catalysis (ACS Catalysis), Cell Press catalysis (Chemical Catalysis), or top Nature Portfolio catalysis (Nature Catalysis).

Reviewers at Applied Catalysis B typically draw from 2 to 3 catalysis subspecialty experts under the Elsevier single-anonymized model. Editors screen and triage manuscripts before any reviewer sees them, and preparing a response template that addresses both genuine environmental/energy relevance and mechanistic understanding accelerates revision rounds substantially.

For a pre-upload check of your manuscript against the Applied Catalysis B catalysis-plus-environmental-relevance bar before submission, our Applied Catalysis B pre-submission diagnostic flags the retrofitted-environmental-relevance and computational-only-mechanism weaknesses most likely to surface in the handling editor desk screen.